“And Above All: To Thine Own Self Be True.”

A tremendous part of appreciating and loving yourself is learning to be true to yourself. Knowing what you stand for and what you believe gives you tremendous power. And learning to accept yourself as you are, instead of constantly striving to reshape yourself, creates greater self-love.

For example, say you’re not a morning person. Instead of being frustrated with yourself, first do everything you can to make your mornings easier – then focus on making your evenings as productive as possible.

If you find yourself continually fighting to love and appreciate yourself, take a moment to consider whether your actions and your habits are in alignment with your inner truth. If self-love is a struggle for you, you may find that you’re disappointing or limiting yourself by allowing fear to keep you from living out what you truly believe.

Self love takes courage. It can be scary to admit, “I love myself even though I am flawed.” After all, it’s easy to feel unlovable – like your flaws are on parade – like people will think you are unjustifiably prideful. Cultivate self love by celebrating your strengths and embracing the humanity of your weaknesses.

And it can be equally scary to stand up for the beliefs and emotions that make you you. Maybe you hesitate to share your political views, to tell a friend you find her actions hurtful, or even pursue a non-traditional career path or lifestyle. Instead of doubting yourself and shrinking from confrontation, expand your self love by developing your inner power and being true to what you believe.

I’ll leave you with this thought from poet E.E. Cummings:

“We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”